Lawton's Lakes Are Nearly 75% Full Despite Oklahoma Heat, With Years of Water in Reserve

Lawton’s three lakes held nearly 75% combined usable water storage as of Monday, and Public Works Director Rusty Whisenhunt told the city council that’s a decent place to be after the temperatures we just pushed through. Lake Lawtonka came in just over 78% full. Waurika Lake held steady at about 89% capacity. Together, those two are doing the heavy lifting for the city’s water supply, which delivers roughly 24 million gallons of treated water to customers every day.

Lake Ellsworth is the outlier, sitting below 26% capacity. That number turns heads, but the city lowered the lake deliberately so McMillen Inc. could work on spillway repairs. Evaporation still took about seven feet off the surface, which is why it looks so bare out there. Even with Ellsworth down, Whisenhunt said Lawton has about three to three and a half years of water in the lakes even with no rain at all. He also walked the council through the city’s five-stage water restriction plan, which ties tighter rules and higher rates to falling storage levels.

For residents, the practical takeaway is simple. No restrictions are in place right now, and the city is nowhere near the crisis years of the 2010 to 2015 drought. Still, the staged plan exists, and knowing how it works is worth a few minutes of your time before any stage ever gets triggered. Water early, water deep, and keep an eye on the lake level reports as we head into fall.

What’s your water strategy at home this year? Are you watering by the calendar, by the thermometer, or not at all?